Texas vs. West Virginia: How to watch, odds, picks, final score predictions from ESPN, KenPom
No. 7 Texas (15-3, 4-2) and West Virginia (11-7, 1-5) square off in a Big 12 matchup Saturday. Ahead of the game, which will be broadcast live on ESPN, predictions and betting odds – including KenPom analytics – are rolling in.
How to watch Texas vs. West Virginia
Tip-off: 6:00 p.m. ET
Location: Morgantown (W.V.)
Channel: ESPN
Vegas Odds
West Virginia is a 0.5 point favorite over Texas Saturday, according to the odds at VegasInsider. The total is set at 145.5
ESPN BPI prediction
Predicted winner: West Virginia
Predicted point differential: 0.4
Win probability West Virginia: 51.7%
Matchup quality: 96.4
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a tool that measures team strength and uses that to predict outcomes of future performances. Despite Texas rolling at the moment, the Mountaineers get the very slight edge at home.
KenPom prediction
Predicted final score: West Virginia wins 76-74
Win probability West Virginia: 55%
KenPom is another tool that provides advanced analysis across college basketball. This metric actually gives West Virginia a better chance to beat Texas than ESPN, upping the win percentage to 55.
More on Texas vs. West Virginia
Texas lost its last time out, a 78-67 loss to Iowa State on the road.
“It was 40 minutes of physicality right there,” coach Rodney Terry said postgame. “We are a pretty physical-minded program, likewise. We like to try to force turnovers. They do a great job of forcing turnovers. We had a stretch there when we turned the ball over and allowed them to kind of make their run there in the first half.
“But we knew coming into this game we had to be strong with the ball, we had to make decisive plays and we needed to try to finish at the rim strong.”
Texas might need more of that after West Virginia earned its first Big 12 win of the season over No. 14 TCU.
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“They really played,” Huggins said postgame “We’re getting there. We’re getting better. Give them credit. We still do some dumb things that, I think later on, we won’t do … I just told them we need to go win four in a row. We can win four in a row. That’s one. Get ready to go get the next one in a couple days.”